Losing Daylight (2007)

Besides affixing their name to a big reissue and big collections disc, A-F Records has been a mostly quiet bunch since the unfortunate flooding of their offices in 2004. While they've subsequently picked up maybe one signing in that time or so, it's a good one -- Incommunicado deliver an incredibly solid debut in Losing Daylight that should make its label heads proud.

It might look lazy, but I have to pretty much agree with the comments from Anti-Flag's Chris #2 about the band: "I feel the complexities of Fugazi's 13 Songs, and the language of Against Me!'s Reinventing Axl Rose." This is just about dead on: Take At the Drive-In's middle-to-late-era interpretations of Fugazi's most energetic moments and combine it with the brash march of early Against Me! and you have a palatable, volatile punk rock release in Losing Daylight.

Frontman Chris Feigh has an engaging voice with a good range. His more aggressive stance is a gravelly, rapid-fire delivery that propels the songs along, but he can rear back when needed, where the band dip into more restrained, somewhat angular and even fairly experimental moments. Take the creepy layer of whispers added to "Electrode Cathode," or the Bixler-Zavala-esque yelps in "Faces to the Floor." There's also the obvious AM! cues in "Knee Deep," a quick shuffle with throat-seared yells coming up nearly every second.

For good measure, Incommunicado keep the whole thing under a half-hour. Stuff as good as this could probably still be pretty fresh for another 10 minutes, but even their brevity is an admirable trait. Thumbs up.